Looking after someone 2017, Northern Ireland | Page 19

Olga’s story

When I first heard about
Carers UK’s Jointly app, I was
juggling full-time work with caring
for my parents, who lived 170 miles
away.
It was a complicated and stressful
situation. My mum has a range of
conditions, including osteoporosis
and arthritis. My dad had been
caring for her, until 2015 when he
was diagnosed with lymphoma and
needed care himself.
My siblings and I tried to coordinate
it between us, taking turns to travel
to their home to help around the
house, cook meals and take them
to appointments.
Jointly was an excellent way
of making sure we had all the
information we needed in one
place. We only had to enter the
information once and all of us

had access to it. Up until then
we’d been trying to coordinate
everything through email, phone
calls and trying to share calendars.
Each time one of us took mum
or dad to an appointment we
would make notes in Jointly. The
medication list meant we all had
up-to-date information to share
with the GP – which was essential
when dad was prescribed aspirin,
which he wasn’t allowed to have
whilst on his cancer drugs.
Being able to look after my parents
has been really important to me. I
wanted to return the care and love
they gave me during my childhood.
After dad passed away in 2016, my
siblings and I have continued to
share the care for mum, and
Jointly helps us do that.

Developed by Carers UK, Jointly is an innovative
mobile and online app that is designed by carers
for carers. Find out more at carersuk.org/jointly

Looking after someone

carersni.org

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